The Court Martial
by AliasCWN
Summary: Tully finds himself fighting for his freedom when he is accused of a serious crime.


**The Court Martial**

By:AliasCWN

Tully Pettigrew strode into the command tent with a confidence he didn't really feel. He held his head high and tried not to let his unease show.

"Take a seat Private."

Tully looked at the chair indicated; it represented his disgrace, and everything that was wrong with this hearing. As he hesitated the guards behind him moved closer in case he tried to resist. Knowing that it would be futile to fight it, he took the seat.

"Private Pettigrew," the presiding officer began, "you do know why you are here?"

"Yes Sir." Tully responded.

"And how do you plead to the charge of hitting a superior officer?"

"Not guilty Sir."

"What about the charge of manslaughter?"

"Not guilty Sir, I didn't touch him."

"Just answer the question Private. You will have a chance to tell your side of the story when your lawyer asks the questions."

"Yes Sir."

"So we have a not guilty plea to each charge?"

"Yes Sir."

"Very well Private." The officer continued. "This hearing confirmed that there is ample evidence to send this case to a court martial. I suggest that you have your lawyer begin collecting your witnesses. I understand that some of the parties involved will be transferred soon and time is of the essence. In order to give both parties a chance to call witnesses the court martial will begin tomorrow. Do you have a lawyer Private?"

"Why do I need one? I didn't do anything wrong."

"Just the same Private, I suggest you use one. If you don't have one already one can be provided for you."

"I have one they gave me but I didn't do anything." Tully insisted.

"Take the advice of your lawyer before you say anything more." The officer suggested.

The lieutenant who had been assigned as Tully's lawyer tapped him on the shoulder and motioned for him to remain silent.

The officer saw the signal and nodded. "Good. Trust your lawyer Private; this is a serious matter we are here to decide."

Tully played with the metal cuffs on his wrists and listened as the officer in charge scheduled his downfall.

 _Four days earlier:_

Troy met the others at the jeeps with a hand full of papers and a captain and a lieutenant in tow.

Tully and Hitch were giving their jeeps their last minute checks and had their heads under the hoods. Moffitt rose from his seat in the shade and waited quietly for the three men to approach.

"Moffitt, this is Captain Brice and Lieutenant Evans. This is my second-in-command Sergeant Jack Moffitt."

"Sergeant Moffitt." The captain acknowledged. He looked over at the two privates with a frown on his face.

"This is Private Mark Hitchcock." Troy introduced his driver as Hitch pulled his head clear and dropped his hood.

Tully continued to work on his engine.

"Tully."

"Just a minute Sarge. This fitting is coming loose and it could give us problems if it isn't fixed."

"Need help Tully?" Hitch asked.

"No. I got it." Tully made a few more adjustments before declaring the problem fixed. He pulled his head out from under the hood and turned to face the newcomers.

"Do you always keep your superiors waiting?" The captain asked with a frown.

"I was right in the middle of fixing that fitting and I had it right where I wanted it Sir." Tully explained.

"Your sergeant called you."

Tully looked over at Troy. "I answered him Sir."

"By making him wait!"

Tully looked at Troy in confusion. "Sarge knew I was fixing the jeep."

"We need to get moving Sir." Troy interrupted. "Is the jeep ready?" He asked Tully.

"Ready Sarge."

"All right. We're going to take Captain Brice and Lieutenant Evans out to meet a convoy and then we are going to escort the convoy to their destination." Troy explained.

Both privates nodded and headed for their respective jeeps. Tully stopped long enough to drop the hood on his jeep and tie it down. Hitch only had to fasten his down. Both privates were in their seats before Troy sent the lieutenant to ride with Tully and Moffitt while he kept the captain in his jeep.

Tully noted that Moffitt was frowning as he climbed into the jeep to sit on the radio. Tully adjusted his goggles and dropped his helmet on his head. His jeep pulled out right behind Troy's.

They were making good time so Troy called for a short break to cool the engines and stretch their legs. Both privates immediately filled the gas tanks and raised the hoods of the jeeps to let the air flow through. Hitch picked up a rifle and went to stand guard while his engine cooled. Tully double-checked his repair job from that morning.

"Aren't you going to do anything besides play around with that jeep?"

Tully twisted his neck to look around the hood. Captain Brice was standing next to the fender of his jeep glaring at him.

"I just want to be sure my fix is holding." Tully explained.

"If you're that bad of a mechanic maybe you should have taken it to the motor pool to get it fixed."

"I can fix it." Tully told him. "And the motor pool is usually busy; we didn't have time to wait. Sarge said to be ready by 0800."

"Yet you were still working on the jeep when we arrived." The Captain complained.

"Begging your pardon Sir, but you were early."

"Only by ten minutes." The Captain pointed out.

"And it didn't take me ten minutes to fix the jeep Sir."

"Is there a problem here?" Moffitt asked as he walked up unnoticed by the two men.

"Is this man always this insubordinate?" The Captain demanded.

"Tully is usually very respectful." Moffitt replied. He threw Tully a quick look that asked what was going on.

"I wasn't being disrespectful Sir; I was just answering your questions."

"Captain!" Troy called.

The Captain threw Tully an angry look and stomped off to see what Troy needed.

"What's going on?" Moffitt asked as soon as the Captain was far enough away that they could talk in private.

"I don't know Sarge; that Captain seems to have it in for me. Everything I do is wrong."

"We'll be meeting that convoy around noon tomorrow so maybe you could just stay out of his way until then."

"I'll try Doc."

Moffitt smiled. "That's better."

Tully looked at him in confusion.

` "I like Doc better than sarge." The sergeant smiled again. "Just hang in there until tomorrow Tully and the Captain will be with the convoy. We can avoid them while we are escorting the convoy. Has the lieutenant been giving you any problems?"

"No." Tully shook his head. "He's kind of quiet."

"All right. I'll give Troy a heads-up about the situation and you try to avoid the Captain."

"Okay Doc."

"Moffitt!"

"I have to go, mustn't keep Troy waiting in front of the Captain." Moffitt gave Tully a reassuring pat on the arm before running off to answer Troy's call.

Tully finished checking his jeep and picked up a weapon. Climbing the hill to where Hitch stood guard Tully alerted his buddy to his presence.

"What's up Tully?"

"Let me take over guard duty."

""Sure, but why? It's my turn."

Tully shrugged. "Let's just say that the area around the jeep is just too crowded for my taste."

Hitch looked down at the meeting between the sergeants and the officers and nodded. "Okay, I'll fill both radiators and see if Sarge needs anything else."

"Thanks Hitch."

"Any time Tully, I don't really like guard duty anyway." He flashed Tully a smile and a wink before heading for the jeeps.

Troy finished explaining the plan to intercept the convoy and Moffitt was folding the maps when Hitch asked if he needed anything.

"Get on the radio and see if there are any reports that ought to concern us."

"Right Sarge." Hitch headed for the radio in his jeep.

Troy turned and found both officers watching the exchange.

"That one seems to know what he is doing." The Captain observed as Hitch walked away.

"They both do." Troy responded.

"That other one seems to do whatever he can to get out of work."

"Tully?" Troy asked in surprise.

"Yes." The Captain replied. "He fools around making unnecessary repairs on his jeep rather than answer your calls. He takes over guard duty so your other private has to do all of the work in camp."

"You've got it all wrong Captain." Troy interrupted.

"Don't tell me Sergeant, I've run into plenty of soldiers like him. They resent being drafted, resent taking orders; they're a drag on hard working soldiers like your other private."

"Tully's not like that." Troy disagreed. "First off, Tully's not a draftee, he volunteered."

"I've been watching him Sergeant, he's a goof off."

"He's darn good at his job and I know I can always count on him." Troy growled.

"Be careful Sergeant." Captain Brice warned. "I don't like your tone."

Troy took a breath and tried again. "We count on each other to stay alive Captain. If Tully didn't carry his own weight, believe me, he wouldn't be here."

"I understand that you don't want to admit to a failure of command Sergeant, but it's obvious that you have no control over that private."

"Sarge, company coming!"

Troy turned at Tully's call and checked on Hitch. The blonde was already lowering the antenna on the radio. Both jeeps were ready to roll when Tully came running down the hill.

"What's out there Tully?" Troy asked as Tully slid into his seat.

"Patrol."

"Okay." Troy nodded. "You and Moffitt lead out. You know where they are, keep us out of sight."

Tully nodded and started his jeep. The German patrol didn't spot them because Tully kept the jeeps close to the base of the hills. He expertly led them through a series of turns that not only kept them out sight of the patrol but also maintained the course they had been traveling earlier. When they finally returned to the open desert road there were no Germans in sight and they were closer to their destination.

"How do we even know there was a German patrol out there?" Captain Brice asked as he fumed about the imagined delay. "It's very important that we reach the convoy and it arrives at its destination on time."

"Tully saw it." Troy answered.

"So he said. Did anyone else actually see it?"

"Look Captain," Troy began, "these are my men. I trust them. If Tully said there was a patrol out there, it was there. The fact that we didn't see it just shows you how good my men are at avoiding them when I say so."

Captain Brice didn't look convinced.

That night in camp Troy tried to keep Tully and the Captain apart. He gave Tully the first watch while Hitch prepared the meals. After the officers had eaten Hitch served his sergeants. "Thanks Hitch. Grab yours so you can relieve Tully on watch."

"Right Sarge." Hitch filled his plate and went to the jeeps to find a seat away from the officers. When he finished he cleaned his plate and the plates of the others before going to relieve Tully. "Sarge said to go down and eat." He told Tully when he took over. "I left a plate warming on the fire for you."

"That captain still awake?" Tully asked.

"Yeah." Hitch nodded. "He sure doesn't have anything nice to say about you. What did you do to him anyway?"

"Nothing." Tully insisted. "Doc told me to avoid him. Maybe I can skip supper and bed down up here." He suggested hopefully.

Hitch smiled as he looked over Tully's shoulder. "It looks like Doc thought of that too."

Tully turned to see the sergeant approaching with a plate of food in his hand and some blankets draped over his arm.

"I thought you might be hungry Tully."

"And cold?" Tully asked, eyeing the blankets.

"I thought it best if I brought your blankets to you so that you wouldn't have to go to your jeep to get them."

"Eat Tully. When you're done you can keep watch until I finish cleaning up the camp. Then you can sleep here while I stand guard." Hitch offered.

The next morning Hitch delivered a plate of food to Tully for breakfast while he as on guard. "I'll pack your blankets and check your jeep if you want."

"Thanks Hitch, I'd appreciated that."

"No problem, what are friends for?" Hitch waited for Tully to finish eating then took the empty plate and the blankets back to the camp.

"Do you always do things this way?"

Hitch looked up to see the captain watching him put Tully's blankets in the jeep after cleaning the dishes and packing them away. "What way is that Captain?"

"You do all of the chores while that other private just stands around." The captain explained.

"No Captain." Hitch answered as he rounded Tully's jeep to lift the hood. "We share the work. Sometimes one of us gets more than the other but it all evens out in the end."

The captain shook his head. "Don't you mind him taking advantage of you?"

"No one is taking advantage of me Captain, I told you, it all evens out."

"Yeah, that's why you serviced the jeeps. cooked our meal, served your friend his breakfast, and then cleaned up and policed the camp." The captain snorted in disbelief.

"We're flexible Captain. We all pitch in to do whatever needs to be done. Tully is on guard duty, that needs to be done. It's important."

"Oh it's important, but I'm not sure I'd trust him to do it."

Hitch frowned. "I'd trust Tully with my life. In fact, I do that every day. He's never let me down Captain."

"Yet."

"Not Tully." Hitch answered with confidence.

"Huh!"

"Excuse me Sir; I need to talk to my sergeant." Hitch hurried away before he lost his temper with the captain.

"What's wrong?" Troy asked as his driver rushed up to him.

"Nothing Sarge." Hitch sighed. "I just needed to get away from that captain and I used talking to you as an excuse." The blonde smiled apologetically. "Sorry."

"No, I'd rather you do that than lose your temper and do something you'll regret later. I don't want any of you to argue with him or heaven forbid, hit him. I know he can be aggravating."

"You got that right Sarge." Hitch agreed. "And he seems to have it in for Tully."

"Yeah I know." Troy growled. "Do me a favor Hitch, help Tully stay away from him. It might mean you picking up the slack around camp but I don't think those two should be around each other."

"Yeah," Hitch grinned, "they're like oil and water."

"Unfortunately the captain is the oil." Troy grunted. "And oil always comes out on top when mixed with water."

Hitch sobered. "I'll do what I can Sarge."

Troy nodded. "Are the jeeps ready?"

"Ready Sarge."

"Then let's move out." Troy called to Moffitt and the officers to get in the jeeps. They were all waiting when Tully ran down the hill to take his seat.

"Late again." The captain muttered as Hitch pulled the jeep out of camp.

They met the convoy exactly where it was supposed to be. The two jeeps were challenged as they approached until it was confirmed that they were indeed the expected escorts. Captain Brice and Lieutenant Evans joined the convoy and chose to ride in the trucks, much to Troy's relief.

"Moffitt, you and Tully circle around the front and see if you can spot anything. They've been here long enough to have attracted attention. Hitch and I will check their back trail to be sure they weren't followed. You sweep to the right, we'll go left."

Moffitt nodded and waved Tully toward the front of the long line of trucks. Troy sent Hitch to check the side before retracing the trail of the convoy. Less than five minutes later the German column attacked from the side of the trail. They had been lying in waiting, knowing that the trucks were coming.

The halftracks opened fire on the convoy even as the truck drivers began to scatter. The sounds of the one-sided fight drew the two jeeps back in a hurry.

Tully and Moffitt got there first. Their initial attack took out one of the halftracks before the Germans realized that the jeeps were there. They were actively engaged with two more when Troy and Hitch arrived. The two small vehicles attacked in their usual manner and managed to destroy another halftrack and two patrol cars before the Germans decided that they had had enough. The last halftrack fought a blocking defense until the last two patrol cars could pick up any survivors. With their injured on board the cars fled toward their own base with the halftrack guarding their retreat. When the dust cleared the Americans were the only ones left standing.

After checking for, and finding no survivors, Troy ordered his small team back to help the convoy. One of the trucks was burning while crews tried to extinguish the flames. The other trucks soon regrouped and between them they had enough fire extinguishers to save the contents of the disabled truck.

Moffitt offered to help with the wounded while Troy went to find Captain Brice. Hitch took his jeep to the rear of the convoy and stood on the hood to stand watch. Tully took his to the front and did the same.

Troy found Captain Brice working with the convoy commander to organize a crew to transfer the load from the damaged truck to the others in the convoy. Space was tight so they would have to shift other loads to make room for the extra supplies. Captain Brice kept stressing the importance of staying on schedule.

The work crews sweated in the hot sun and occasionally would stop to wipe the sweat from their faces. Each time one would pause the Captain would berate him as lazy. Finally the officer could take it no more. He climbed into the hot truck and began pushing the heavy boxes toward the tailgate himself in an effort to hurry the process along. Sweat soaked his body and his face turned bright red from the exertion but he refused to slow down. At last the boxes were all transferred and the truck was empty.

Troy asked Tully to take some explosives to the convoy commander so that they could blow the truck so the Germans couldn't use it. Tully was walking along the line of trucks when the captain stepped out in front of him from between two trucks.

"Here you are Private. Where have you been?"

"I was on guard." Tully explained, trying to ease his way around the officer.

"What are you doing now?"

"Taking some explosives to the convoy commander." Tully explained.

"I don't see any explosives Private!" The captain challenged in a raised voice.

"That's because they are in the other jeep. I have to go get them Sir." Tully replied in a reasonable tone.

"On guard, the explosives are in the other jeep, you have an excuse for everything don't you Private?"

"It's the truth Sir." Tully answered, fighting to keep his temper.

"I think you're a slacker." The captain yelled.

"No Sir." Tully answered.

"Don't lie to me Private!"

Tully shook his head and answered in a quiet voice. "I'm not lying Captain."

"You are, you're a lazy liar!"

"What's going on over here?" A voice called from the other side of the truck. Lieutenant Evans stepped from between the two trucks and froze at the sight before him.

Tully was kneeling on the ground next to an unconscious Captain Brice. His hands were covered in blood from an injury on the side of the Captain's head. "Get a medic!" Tully shouted with a wild look in his eyes.

The convoy commander arrived along with the medic and most of the truck drivers. Moffitt pushed his way through the crowd to stand next to Tully.

"What happened here?" The convoy commander asked.

"He just collapsed." Tully answered quietly.

"How do you explain the head wound?" Lieutenant Evans shouted. "You were arguing, I heard you!"

"Well Private?" The convoy commander asked.

"The Captain was shouting." Tully explained. "I was just listening."

"And then you hit him." The lieutenant accused.

"I didn't touch him!" Tully denied hotly.

"Then how did you get his blood all over your hands?" The officer sneered.

Tully looked down at his hands and then down at the unconscious officer. "I tried to stop the bleeding. He hit his head on the truck when he fell."

"There is no blood on the truck." The lieutenant pointed out.

"Maybe it didn't start bleeding until he was already on the ground." Tully suggested.

"The head wound is the only injury I can find." The medic interrupted. "He's still unconscious, he might have a concussion, maybe we should get him to a hospital."

"But he only fell." Tully insisted.

"His blood pressure is dropping and his pulse is weak; he needs a hospital." The medic repeated.

Troy and Hitch arrived to stand beside Tully.

"These men can tell you; this private has been giving Captain Brice a hard time ever since they were assigned to deliver us to this convoy." Lieutenant Evans declared.

Troy looked from Tully to the lieutenant. "The Captain was the one with the problem. Tully has been trying to stay out of his way."

"They're defending him Captain." The lieutenant argued. "You can't let him run around loose or they will help him escape."

"Escape? To where Lieutenant? There is no place to go." Troy answered.

"Just the same Sergeant, it might be a good idea to hold your private until Captain Brice regains consciousness and can tell us his side of the story." Captain McSwain, the convoy commander, decided.

"I already told you what happened." Tully insisted.

"All right, then we'll hold you until we can see if the Captain's account matches the one you gave us."

"I'm afraid that won't be possible." The medic interrupted again. "Captain Brice is dead."

Captain McSwain looked at the men gathered around and considered his options. "Did any of you see or hear anything?"

"I told you Captain, they were arguing!" Lieutenant Evans insisted.

"And I told you, we weren't arguing!" Tully replied hotly. "The Captain was doing all of the yelling. I didn't hit him and I sure as blazes didn't kill him!"

"I'm sorry Private, I'm afraid I'm going to have to hold you for striking a superior officer, and for manslaughter." He added. He gave the order for some of his men to take Tully into custody. No amount of arguing from Troy would change his mind.

"I didn't do anything." Tully insisted.

"You'll get your chance to prove it at a hearing." Captain McSwain told him. I want two guards on him at all times." The soldiers nodded and led Tully away.

 _Back to the present:_

The court martial began the next morning. Lieutenant Evans was the most damaging witness for the prosecution. He detailed every grievance the Captain had had against Tully and a few Tully hadn't even heard about before. Tully's lawyer couldn't shake his testimony on the stand.

Troy, Moffitt, and Hitch were forced to testify under oath about the friction between the two men.

Hitch argued that the Captain had had it in for Tully right from the start. But under oath he was forced to admit that the two men didn't get along and that he hadn't actually witnessed the final confrontation.

Moffitt confirmed the lieutenant's testimony but argued that Tully had never raised his voice to the captain while he was present. He was then forced to admit that he hadn't been present for all of the instances the lieutenant mentioned.

Troy tried to argue that Tully was a model of calm under most circumstances but again he had to admit that Tully had lost some of that cool after the incident in question.

Captain McSwain could only tell what he saw and heard after the lieutenant called for a medic.

The medic could only say that the Captain had only one visible wound, the head wound. He did confess that Tully could have been telling the truth about the blood on the truck. The wound wasn't deep enough to have started bleeding right away. It was possible that it didn't start to bleed until after the Captain was on the ground. He couldn't confirm cause of death; only say that it was possible the head wound was the cause.

Tully's lawyer had no choice; he had to put Tully on the stand. "Whatever you do Private, don't lose your temper." He cautioned.

"I didn't lose my temper." Tully growled. "I didn't do anything to him. He got all red in the face and just collapsed." Tully repeated his earlier statement.

"Just stick to the truth."

"I told the truth."

"All right Private, just answer their questions. Stick to the point and don't elaborate. Use as few words as possible."

Tully nodded and took the stand.

"Tell us what happened." The prosecuting officer ordered.

Tully looked at his lawyer. How was he going to answer that question in only a few words? "The Captain was yelling at me, his face got all red and he collapsed. He hit his head on the truck."

"You were arguing?"

"No."

"The lieutenant heard you yelling."

"No." Tully shook his head. "The lieutenant heard the Captain yelling. He didn't hear me, I wasn't yelling."

"But you were angry at the Captain?"

"Didn't like him well enough to be angry." Tully answered shortly. He looked over in time to see his lawyer wince at his choice of words.

"So you didn't like him?"

"Didn't know him very well."

"But you didn't like him."

At that point Tully's lawyer objected. The judge ordered Tully to answer anyway.

"The Captain was yelling at you."

"Yes."

"Why?"

Tully shrugged. "I'm not really sure. He was spouting something about me being lazy. I told him I'd been busy and that I was still busy but he called me a liar."

"And you were angry about that?" The prosecutor persisted.

"Look," Tully answered seriously, "I told you, I didn't like him well enough to get angry at him. If I liked him I would have been upset because he thought I was lying, but I really didn't care what he thought, so I wasn't angry."

"Then why did you hit him?"

"I didn't. I never touched him." Tully paused. "Unless you count when I tried to stop the bleeding that is."

The prosecutor tried to get Tully angry to show that he had a temper but Tully remained infuriatingly calm, answering the same questions repeatedly. He even tried changing the wording to trip Tully up but it didn't work.

"So how did the Captain wind up dead?" The prosecutor finally asked in exasperation.

Tully shook his head. "I don't know. Maybe he had a fit or something. All I know is that he yelled until his face got all red. Then he went kind of white and grabbed at his back. The next thing I knew he was headed for the ground. He hit his head on the way down."

"Was the Captain prone to fits?"

"He sure seemed like he was prone to hissy fits but I don't know about any medical ones." Tully answered. "Like I told you, I didn't know him that well."

"So you keep telling us." The lawyer stated sarcastically. "What do you know Private?"

"I know I didn't hit him and I certainly didn't kill him." Tully stated flatly.

With that the proceedings ended for the day. Tully was led out in chains as the others watched with worried eyes.

Back in his cell Tully was worried too. He knew it looked bad for him and his lawyer had no witnesses to call in his defense. He dropped onto his bunk and wondered what the others were doing.

Troy stopped Tully's lawyer as the members of the court filed from the room. "How does it look?"

"Not good Sergeant." Tully's lawyer admitted. "Even Private Pettigrew admits that there was an argument."

"No." Troy shook his head. "He admits that the Captain was angry and yelling at him. Heck, maybe the Captain had a heart attack. He was pushing those boxes around in that hot truck and then he got all upset at Tully. He blamed Tully for everything. He even blamed Tully for the convoy getting hit. He said Tully was more worried about his jeep than he was about protecting the convoy." Troy argued. "He was already mad because the transfer of the load was taking too long. His face was beet red when he jumped out of that truck after helping unload the supplies. He was sweaty and mad and he took it out on Tully."

"He was helping unload the truck in that heat?"

"Yeah, he said the crew doing it was working too slowly." Troy confirmed.

"And then he went to yell at your private?"

Troy nodded.

"And Private Pettigrew said he just collapsed?"

"Yeah. Tully wouldn't lie."

"I'll see you later Sergeant, I need to check on something." The lawyer excused himself and left Troy and the others standing in the courtroom.

The next morning the court martial started with Tully once again on the stand. This time it was his lawyer asking the questions.

"All right Private, tell us exactly what happened when Captain Brice stepped out in front of you along that line of trucks."

Tully hesitated, trying to figure out how to answer the question in only a few words.

His lawyer saw his hesitation and encouraged him. "In your own words Private."

"The short version?"

"No Private, this time I want the long version."

"Okay." Tully began. "The Captain stepped in front of me and started accusing me of being lazy. He didn't believe I was on an errand for Sarge."

"Were you?"

"Yeah, Sarge told me to get some explosives and give them to the convoy commander. The Captain accused me of lying because I didn't have them with me. They were in the other jeep and I had to go get them. I told him that but he got all red in the face and called me a liar."

"And that didn't upset you?"

"No."

"Then what happened?"

"He was yelling at me and then his face got real pale and he grabbed his back like he was in pain. I thought maybe he hurt his back unloading that truck. I started to reach for him but his eyes rolled back in his head and he just collapsed. I tried to catch him but I was too slow. He hit his head on the truck and fell at my feet. I tried to stop the bleeding. Lieutenant Evans showed up and I told him to call a medic."

"Private, do you know what an aneurism is?"

Tully shook his head.

"You've never heard of them?"

"Not that I can recall."

"Private, do you know what the Captain was doing before he started yelling at you?"'

"Not exactly. Sarge said he was helping unload a truck. I guess he was supervising."

"Not exactly." His lawyer answered. "I have no more questions for this witness but I do have another witness I would like to call."

"I wasn't aware that there were any more witnesses." The judge replied.

"I took the liberty of having an autopsy performed to determine the exact cause of death. Everyone has testified that the Captain had only one visible wound. And I don't think that anyone would dispute that the Captain was working hard in the heat before going to yell at Private Pettigrew. If I may, I would like to call Doctor Vickers to the stand to give us the autopsy report."

"I'll allow it."

"Doctor Vickers, could you please tell us what you found?"

"Certainly. When you ask me to do an autopsy I was thinking that I might find evidence of a heart attack, I was wrong."

Troy sagged in his seat at the news.

"What I did find was a ruptured aortic aneurism."

"Could you explain for us what that is?"

"Basically it is a weak spot in the aortic artery. It goes along unnoticed unless we happen to be looking at something else and just happen to see it. Or it can burst as this one did. The private's description of the Captain's actions suggest that this one may have burst while he was unloading that truck. Any rise in blood pressure could have ruptured the artery. Pushing heavy loads in the heat certainly could have done it. Losing his temper could have done it after the heavy lifting. Whatever the actual cause, the artery burst, and the Captain bled to death. Once it burst, unless he was already in surgery, there was no way to save him."

"What about the injury to his head?"

"The blow to his head was a glancing blow. In all probability he hit it on something when he fell. The abrasion wasn't deep. The only reason it bled as much as it did was because it was located on the head where the blood vessels are close to the surface."

"Could the blow have been caused by a fist?"

"Highly unlikely." The surgeon answered.

"Thank you Doctor."

As the doctor left the stand the members of the court martial panel put their heads together. After only a moment they straightened in their chairs and the judge cleared his throat.

"After hearing the results of the autopsy we find that there is no reason to continue with these proceedings. All charges will be dropped and the private will return to his regular duties.

Tully dropped his head in relief. Troy, Moffitt, and Hitch jumped out of their chairs. Lieutenant Evans looked shocked.

Before Tully left the lieutenant approached him with an apology. "I really thought you hit him Private. I knew he could be abrasive, but he was a good officer. I'm sorry."

Tully accepted the apology with grace. "Maybe he was Lieutenant; I didn't really know him that well."

"That was close." Hitch breathed as the four of them returned to their quarters.

"Too close." Troy agreed.

"We all knew that Tully was innocent." Moffitt stated.

"But I sure didn't think I was going to be able to prove it." Tully added.

"Lucky for you your lawyer decided to do an autopsy." Hitch told him.

"Are you all right Tully?" Moffitt asked.

"Yeah." Tully answered around a yawn. "I didn't sleep too well last night but I'm okay now. You know, my lawyer said it was your unshakable faith in me that convinced him that there was more to the story than the evidence showed. He decided to dig deeper because of you guys. I owe you again."

"No." Hitch answered. "That's what friends are for. It's what we do."

"We take care of each other." Moffitt simplified it for all of them.

"Yeah we do." Tully smiled happily.


End file.
